INDIA: 35 Dalit families face a social boycott while the destruction of their burial ground goes unpunished

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that all the lowest caste (Dalit) families in a Bhavnagar District village are living under boycott conditions, which deny them employment, access to water, the use of village shops or public roads, and any contact with non-Dalits. The boycott was started by Brahmins after Dalits registered a complaint with the police against high caste persons for destroying and stealing from their burial grounds. Twelve out of thirty five families have already had to leave the village. 

CASE DETAILS: 

According to information received information from Navsarjan, a Gujarat-based NGO, a plot of land was given to the Dalits of Karmadiya village (Karmadiya Village, Mahuva, Bhavnagar) by the local government several years ago to be used as a burial ground. But on 19 April 2009 three Brahmin (highest caste) men were seen taking land from the plot to the agricultural fields; their tractor made approximately 50 trips. 

At the Bagdana police station that day fifteen Dalits lodged a complaint against the three men: Bharatbhai Girdharbai Ladhva, Kanubhai Girdharbhai Ladhva and Vallbhbhai Jivabhai Ladhva, but though the police station took the application they refused to register a First Information Report (FIR). This is needed to start legal proceedings. On 23 April Dalit activists arrived in Karmadiya and after hours of petitions, police registered the FIR at 1am. 

The next evening the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP), Mr. B.D. Rabari arrived in the village to record statements and tried to broker an unofficial compromise. The Dalits refused, preferring to pursue their case in court where their rights are more likely to be vindicated. They also demanded police protection from the Dy SP. One police officer arrived later that night and stayed for two days. 

After two meetings were seen taking place – at the home of the Sarpanch (head of the village council), Balashankar Keshubhai Ladhva and another man Kanubhai Girdharbhai Ladhva – the boycott was announced. Non-Dalits were told that they would be fined Rs5000 for making any kind of economic or social contact with the lowest caste members. The Dalits were allegedly told that those who used the public roads would have their legs broken. 

Before the boycott, all earning Dalits worked on land owned by Brahmins or Patels and just twenty Dalit families own land (a total of 15 vigas), but these only yield crops for one season each year because of the lack of irrigation. Members of the community are depending on relatives for support and for loans, but children are finding it difficult to get school supplies and other students have started to call them dheda (a derogatory caste-based term). The women worry about the safety of themselves and their daughters, and report feeling vulnerable outside the Dalit area. 

The stresses and physical difficulties of life in such a hostile environment has forced twelve families to leave the village, and the others fear that they may soon to follow. 

Acts of retaliation, including boycotts and ostracism, often take place when a Dalit makes a legal complaint against a dominant-caste member. It is the responsibility of police to take preventative measures for these, as stated in Section 3 of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) (SC/ST) Rules, 1989. These include the immediate arrest of possible perpetrators to prevent reprisals, the immediate provision of police protection (Rules 3(1)(x), 6(2)(iii), 6(2)(iv), and 12(2)(3)), the imposition of a collective fine (16), the removal of anyone likely to commit an offense (SC/ST Act 10), and the denial of bail (SC/ST Act §18). More on this act and the procedures and protections laid out by it can be found in our previous appeals on social boycotts, such as: UAC-095-2009.  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: 

Since ancient times Indian society has categorised its members into castes. At birth Indians are thrust into a hierarchical world of haves and have-nots, their destiny and human worth determined by family lineage and social custom. Those born into the upper castes, such as the Brahmins or the Darbars, are automatically given the privilege of ‘purity’. On the bottom rung, Dalits are considered akin to the dregs of civilization; others avoid physical and social contact with them, rendering them ‘untouchable’. 

For thousands of years ‘untouchables’ have conducted the duties of a polluted class, from the delivery of bad news to the handling of excrement and of the dead. Society ensures that there is no dignity in being a Dalit. Seen as second-class human beings in the natural order, opportunities for self-improvement and advancement for the lowest caste are very few. 

They are subjected to constant discrimination. Violence committed against them draws less interest or commitment from the authorities, leaving them vulnerable and cut off from the usual mechanisms of justice. The constraints they live with lead to extreme levels of poverty, hunger, squalor and ignorance. The right to grow emotionally, intellectually and even physically is denied them; they essentially live stunted lives. Women face the worst in this patriarchal society, and more often than not the duties that are relegated to the Dalits are given to them. 

Legislation has been created to ban Untouchability and protect Dalits, but in practice it is often ignored by the authorities and hampered by the fixed perceptions of social identity, especially in rural areas. Discrimination against Dalits is severely undermining the advancement of a just, modern Indian society 

Please take a look at our previous appeal, UAC-095-2009, for more information on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, plus a detailed look at the state of current laws.

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please send letters to the authorities listed below expressing your concern in this case. The AHRC will also contact the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance calling for an intervention in this case. 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER